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Footprints & Paddledrips
Volume 4 Issue 1
Newsletter of the Georgia Nature-Based Tourism Association,
January, 2002
January Meeting
The January meeting of the GNTA will be held on Tuesday, Jan. 15 at the
Okefenokee Chamber of Com-merce in Folkston.
The hosts will be the Okefenokee COC (www.folkston@planttel.net)
and Okefenokee Adventures (www.OkefenokeeAdventures.com).
Tommy Gregors of The Georgia Wildlife Federation (www.gwf.org)
and Director of the Education and Research Center in Folkston will be
the featured speaker. He will give an overview of those two entities and
describe the progress being made towards completing the Center.
Okefenokee Adventures will cater the box lunch.
In the afternoon, attendees will be able to visit the Okefenokee National
Wildlife Refuge's Eastern Entrance where Okefenokee Adventures is offering
a compli-mentary 1- hour swamp boat tour.
Note that there is a $5 per car refuge entry fee (free with Golden Age/Golden
Access/Federal Duck Stamps).
Directions
Follow the signs to Folkston. At the junction of U.S. #1 & GA 23
in town, take GA #23 South for several blocks. After crossing the railroad,
the Chamber building (Historic Train Depot) will be on your right.
For further information contact: Okefenokee COC (912-496-2536).
Folkston & the Eastern Okefenokee Swamp
Located in Charlton County, Folkston is one of South Georgia's
gateway communities that offers access to the famous Okefenokee National
Wildlife Refuge as well as nearby Cumberland Island.
The St. Marys and Satilla Rivers surround the city and provide boaters,
canoeists, & kayakers with hours of pleasure on their black waters.
Adjacent farmland draws birders in search of local specialties as they
drive past a variety of unique churches and early 20th Century farm buildings.
It is also the headquarters for the new Okefenokee Education and Research
Center now being developed.
The O.E.R.C. will offer educators and scientists facilities that enable
them to learn more about the Okefenokee Swamp.
O.N.W.R. was created to preserve one of America's most famous
wetlands--the Okefenokee Swamp.
It has the honor of being the largest federal refuge in the Eastern U.S.
The Eastern Entrance contains both pine uplands, grassy marshlands ("prairies"),
& small lakes that are home to quite a variety of wildlife.
Nature drives, hiking trails, boardwalks, observation towers, & historic
buildings are present in this area.
Okefenokee Adventures, a cooperating partner at O.N.W.R.,
works to assist the visitor in their outdoor recreation experience by
providing watercraft rentals, private guide services, a food center, &
swamp souvenirs.
They also schedule daily boat rides along the historic Suwannee Canal
and into Chesser Prairie where in Winter Otter and large groups of Sandhill
Cranes may be observed.
January Agenda
- 9:00 a.m. Committee Meetings
- 9:30 a.m. Refreshments/Social Period
- 10:00 a.m. Introductions/General Meeting
- 10:45 a.m. Program (Tommy Gregors—Okefenokee O.E.R.C. & The Georgia
Wildlife Federation)
- 11:30 a.m. Lunch
- 12:30 p.m. Field Activity--Okefenokee Swamp boat ride
GNTA Contacts
GNTA Web site
www.georgianature.org
Correspondence & Membership
Correspondence/membership
President:
Sheila Willis
326 Pineview Dr.
Waycross, GA 31501
912-285-0419
Newsletter Items (by last Monday of each month)
Vice President:
Karen Arms
P.O. Box 10585
Savannah, GA 31412
912-232-0032
karms@tootsytours.com
Billing statements
Treasurer:
Joy Campbell
Rt. 2, Box 3325
Folkston, GA 31537
912-496-7156
info@okefenokeeadventures.com
Calendar of Events Web Page
The GNTA website will soon put the spotlight on nature-based events around
the state via a calendar format. Send yours in!
Send Us Your News
If you know of any interesting nature news, conservation con-cerns, or
nature-based events & conferences, please help spread the word by
sending us a notice.
At each meeting member news-letters & other informative docu-ments
will be available for display.
GNTA Website "Issues" Page
The GNTA will begin developing an "Issues" page for its website
in Jan. 2002 to keep the public & its members informed of current
concerns in the conservation & nature-based tourism arenas.
The Environmental Advisory Committee (Jim Burkhart, Chip Campbell,
Lydia Thompson, Sheila Willis) and the Public Relations Officer (Joy
Campbell) will create this special section.
All members are invited to contribute to this effort by e-mailing the
following: info@okefenokeeadventures.com.
Directory Updates
Reminder: please check your GNTA directory periodically & note any
revisions. These are typically done on a monthly basis and sent by e-mail
where possible.
Association Schedule
General Meetings are held on the third Tuesday of alternate months. If
you would like to host a future meeting, please contact the current president
no later than the 15th of the month preceding the gathering.
2002(date/location/host)
- Jan. 15--Okefenokee COC, Folkston--Okefenokee Chamber of Commerce
- Note: Hosts are needed for 2002 for Mar. 19, May 21,
Jul. 16, Sept. 17, & Nov. 19
Members Spotlight
The GNTA is composed of a variety of individuals, organizations, businesses,
& agencies who all believe that conservation and commerce are inter-connected.
Nowhere is this more evident than in the field of Nature-based Tourism.
There is a shared sense of responsibility to our communities and our natural
resources.
Also, GNTA members believe in the importance of looking past artificial
boundaries of city, county, & state limits and those that separate
various agencies & organizations.
In order to learn more about the individual members of the GNTA &
the focus of their work, a "Members' Spotlight" column is presented
here with excerpts taken from the members' brochures, flyers, and other
information sources. Additional members will be highlighted on a regular
basis.
Ashton, Ashton, & Associates
A company that has been “working with ecolodges and developing ecotours
since the late 1970’s”
The Ashtons “used their unique backgrounds of being biologists, educators,
and nature tourism experts to begin a new consulting service”
They have more than 25 years experience in “using, evaluating, developing,
and establishing lodges, tours, guides, and operators.”
Projects have included: “ecotourism feasibility studies, environmental,
wildlife & program planning surveys, and sustainable tourism and protected
area management training programs.”
Work is done to “create methods of monitoring programs and facilities
and (evaluating) their sustainability both environmentally and economically.”
The company “understands the need to establish proper facilities and
management strategies to sustain the natural and cultural attributes that
attract visitors that are so important to economic sustainability.”
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